Can you believe it? Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle is just one week away, and what a lineup of amazing speakers we’ve put together for you.
On May 9th to 10th, the leading games industry conference returns to the US for the first time since 2019 for two days of insight sharing, debate making and thought provoking panels, seminars, keynotes and more. Alongside the fantastic schedule, there are plenty of networking opportunities each attendee can take advantage of to meet our expert speakers or other industry professionals.
In the build up to the conference and to give you a sneak preview of what to expect, we are spotlighting some of the leading authorities in the games industry that are sharing their wisdom next week.
In today’s spotlight, we’re sharing our conversation with WINGS’ Corina Diaz, a leader in communications who manages their community and digital presence while raising awareness of their funding for gender marginalized developers across the games industry.
Join us at PG Connects Seattle on May 9th to 10th to hear Diaz discuss the importance of gender-diversity in the industry and how WINGS are actively involved in finding talented and diverse teams.
PocketGamer.biz: Please give us a summary of what you’re speaking about and why it’s important
Corina Diaz: Funding diversity is a vital part of changing the gender-diversity in the games industry. This is why WINGS invests in indie games by teams in which women and marginalized gender developers hold key positions.
As of 2020, less than 1% of VC funds went to female founding teams, with 83% of VC funds reporting that no women sat on their investment committee. However at WINGS, investment decisions are driven by a selection committee of outstanding women game developers. We passionately believe that better representation leads to better creativity.
Over the last two years WINGS has actively funded indie games by diverse teams. Our mission is simple: find talented, diverse teams and fund their high potential games. The success of diverse teams will lead to more unique ideas coming to life, new voices being heard, and new games that cater to a wider variety of players.
What company do you most admire in the mobile games world?
The way Niantic successfully implemented a large IP into a community-driven, collaborative competitive AR experience with Pokémon GP and Pikmin Bloom has been a true inspiration.
What leaders/pioneers in games do you find inspiring?
WINGS has a mobile games selection committee composed of incredible people in the indsutry including Sarah Fuchs, Shelby Moledina, Sophie Vo, Azure Bowie, Laura Zajacz, and Emily Yim.
What’s your favourite ever mobile game?
As a big fan of rhythm games, Tap Tap Revenge still stands out as a mobile game that kept me entertained the most (particularly during long commutes).
Is hypercasual gaming here to stay?
As the games market grows and becomes more accessible to more players, there's no question that hypercasual gaming is going to grow. It can be complementary to more people's daily lives, and has a lower barrier to entry (both from an economic and general interest level) than many other traditional gaming experiences.
Can people get in touch with you at the event? What sort of people would you like to connect with?
WINGS would love to connect with people attending the event. We are always interested in hearing from teams in which women and marginalized gender people hold key positions, with projects seeking funding up to $500K.
What would you like to see more of from events in the future (such as resources for neurodivergent people or more allocated spacing for meetings and networking)?
It is our hope that events will become more inclusive and representative of gender-diverse teams in the future. Having more women and gender-marginalized speakers not only provides different points of view than what are typically featured in games, but also provides inspiration to others in the industry by demonstrating a diversity of talent.
Meet the experts in-person
There’s no place like Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle to connect with incredible industry leaders like Corina Diaz. Don’t miss out on attending our West Coast conference next week – you can secure your spot now and get ready to network with the games industry as the meeting platform is live.
